


Dream of Freedom

by devilinthedetails



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Dreams, Freedom, Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Slavery, Tatooine, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-21 07:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19369810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilinthedetails/pseuds/devilinthedetails
Summary: Before the Boonta Eve Classic, Anakin dreams of freedom and victory. Set Pre-TPM. A oneshot focusing on Anakin's friendship with Kitster.





	Dream of Freedom

Dream of Freedom

“Tomorrow Watto is making you fly that bucket of bolts against thugs like Sebulba?” Kitster’s shout made Anakin turn away from the podrace he was tinkering in preparation for tomorrow’s Boonta Eve Classic to stare at his best friend in Mos Espa as Kitster, finally free from another long day of slaving away for Gardulla the Hutt, appeared in the sunset shadows of Watto’s junkyard. As Anakin watched, he wended his way through the scrapheaps that looked as if they had been both the source materials and inspiration for the motley contraption that was Watto’s podracer. 

“Tomorrow I’m going to be the first human to ever win a podrace,” Anakin boasted, pretending a confidence he didn’t feel because if he didn’t believe in himself. Even his mother, who always had faith in him, doubted his ability to win the podrace or even survive it without crashing. He could see the nightmare of losing him burning in her eyes like a flaming wreck of a failed podracer whenever she thought he wasn’t looking. She didn’t know that he could read the thoughts in her mind and fears in her eyes even without looking at her. That was supposed to be something little boys couldn’t do, so he never shared those secret skills with her. He thought they would only add to her sorrow and endless worry for him. “Then I’ll keep winning podraces until Watto has to start sharing his winnings with me. Within a few years, I’ll have enough credits to buy my freedom. This podracer will fly me to freedom.” 

“I wouldn’t rely on that podracer to fly you very far.” Kitster shook his head. He couldn’t understand, Anakin thought. His dreams were much simpler than Anakin’s. He had given up any hope of being rescued from Tatooine by his pirate father, Rakir Banai, and replaced this dream with one of learning enough etiquette to become a majordomo of a large, wealthy Mos Espan estate. Majordomos were rarely beaten by their masters, had more spacious quarters, and rarely went to sleep with parched throats or growling bellies. 

Anakin’s dreams were far grander. He dreamed of freedom not only for himself but for every slave on Tatooine. He would fly his way to freedom and then return to Tatooine to free all the slaves. He had seen it, real and solid as durasteel in his dreams, but freeing the slaves in his dreams also meant killing the masters. That was what transformed his dreams into nightmares that woke him with a shivering cold sweat, biting the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted the metallic tang of blood just so his mother, who always had dark twin shadows under her eyes, wouldn’t waken from the rest she so desperately needed. 

“A podracer will fly me away from Tatooine. Whether it’s this one or another, doesn’t matter.” Anakin believed in his bones that this was true just as Jira, who slipped him extra pallies as a treat in the marketplace always knew in her aching, old bones when a sandstorm was approaching. He didn’t realize that even after he escaped Tatooine, leaving the desert world in the stardust behind him, that he wouldn’t be able to find freedom or true understanding from anyone who hadn’t shared his past as a slave.


End file.
